Florida County's School Sports Fall Under Gov. Scott's Budget Axe

March 15, 2011 4:00 pm ET —
Kate Conway

By now, it's well known that Gov. Rick
Scott (R-FL) is pretty happy to slash state funding for just about everything
that helps the people of Florida instead of corporations. The latest sad
example of what his cuts have wrought comes out of Duval County, where Scott's
budget cuts are forcing public schools to eliminate
athletic programs:

No more Friday night football. No more sports of
any kind.

That's the harsh reality, according to Duval
County School Board Chairman W.C. Gentry. Budget
cuts proposed by Gov. Rick Scott make it a virtual certainty that the upcoming
school year will be one without sports at any level, he said.

As
one school's principal noted, "Athletics is an integral part of scholastics." Indeed,
according to a 2002 study, "participating in athletics helps students
perform well academically during
high school more than any other extracurricular activity." An even more direct
impact on students' futures comes with closing the door on college
scholarships.

The decision to eliminate sports programs would also take away a
student's ability to earn an athletic scholarship in college. This past
February, more than 50 athletes from Duval public schools signed
letters-of-intent. First Coast High's football team alone had eight athletes
sign with colleges.

One former Duval County resident, a
Division I college athlete who benefited from high school sports training, told
Political Correction he was "between
tears and fits of absolute rage" at the news.